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Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!
Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short (September 5, 1931), and also the title of the song performed in the cartoon. This is one of the only three Merrie Melodies cartoons to star Foxy; the other two are Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (August, 1931) and One More Time (October 3, 1931). This short is a remake of Trolley Troubles, a Disney short featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in whose creation Hugh Harman had once been involved. This was also the first-released WB cartoon to be purchased by Associated Artists Productions for distribution; marking the first of the so-called "pre-August 1948" era for Warner Bros. cartoons. Synopsis Foxy is a trolley engineer whose problems include an obese lady hippo who can't fit into the trolley and a set of wheels that detach from the trolley car while it's moving. Foxy picks up his vixen girlfriend and gives her a ride, but along the way, the car is blocked by a cow who won't get off the track. A group of nearby hobos sing the title song while Foxy tries to move the cow; he finally runs the car underneath the cow and goes on his way. The trolley then goes down a hill and runs out of control; Foxy tries to stop it, but the brakes don't work. Finally, the trolley runs off of a cliff, throwing Foxy right into the camera... and then he falls from bed, waking up from what has turned out to be just a nightmare. The radio by his bed is playing the title song, and the annoyed Foxy smashes the radio with a bedpost upon hearing it. Notes * Foxy's name was mentioned for the first time in this cartoon. * The song in the short was made by Billy Cotton (the song was named after the short). * The title song was featured in Prosperity Blues, a 1932 Krazy Kat cartoon. * The title song was also featured twice in the 1988 movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit; first when Eddie drives into Toontown, and again at the end of the film. The song can now be heard as part of the background area music in the Esplanade at the Disneyland Resort as well as in the Mickey's Toontown area of Disneyland Park. * The lady hippo's gibberish dialogue is actually the following sentence played backwards: "Susie heard one of those Atlantic bells! Whataya think?" * Inside the trolley car are a number of parody advertisements based on real products of the time, including Arrow collars ("Narrow Collars"), Smith Brothers cough drops ("Sniff Brothers Cough Drops") and Fisk Tires ("Risk Tires"). * A portion of this cartoon appeared on a couple episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse. * The title was also used for a song the Joker sang in a Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Emperor Joker!" * This is one of many cartoons that was colorized in the 1990s by re-drawing the animation and re-painting the backgrounds. http://calvincrowe.tripod.com/redrawn/merrie.htm * The song was performed by Christoph Waltz when he hosted Saturday Night Live on February 16, 2013. Availability * Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 * Return of the 30s Characters External links * * Category:Animated shorts Category:Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts Category:1931 films